Berkeley
UC Berkeley Presents Public Service Awards
By Public Affairs, UC Berkeley News
When she graduates in a few days, Ursula Kajani is headed to Rwanda to work with a maternal and child health program through the Peace Corps. As the new Mather Good Citizen Award winner at UC Berkeley, she knows that her experiences with the campus’s Public Service Center — as program assistant, Alternative Breaks leader and Student Advisory Committee member — have prepared her for her next stage, and a future in social justice work.
“I want to extend my appreciation to the PSC for helping us students find critical lenses while learning how to be ourselves. It was really a defining feature of my Cal career,” says Kajani, who, along with a dozen other Berkeley students, faculty and community partners accepted 2017 Public Service Awards at a joyful ceremony on Tuesday.
The annual Public Service Awards ceremony is a highlight of spring at UC Berkeley, which values public service. Chancellor Nicholas Dirks shook hands with the winners and congratulated them from the stage in the Krutch Theatre on the Clark Kerr Campus before a gathering of campus people and awardees’ friends and families.
In addition to Kajani, those honored are:
Thanh Mai Bercher, a graduating senior in public health. Thanh’s service has addressed human rights locally, nationally, and internationally, with a particular focus on sexual assault, advocating for better policies to deter it from happening, supporting survivors and helping raise awareness of the issue. She is a survivor herself, which has motivated her to take action on this issue. Thanh has also addressed many other human rights issues through her work with the campus’s Human Rights Center, and is completing field work with girls who have experienced trauma in the West Bank.
Jesús Guzmán, a graduate student in public policy who worked on immigrant labor issues. An immigrant himself, Guzmán was a founding coordinator of the DREAM Alliance of Sonoma County and an active member of the North Bay Organizing Project’s Immigrant Rights Task Force. He is working with Graton Day Labor Center serving day laborers who are largely immigrants.
Sarick Matzen and Joshua Arnold, graduate students in environmental science, policy and management. Working in the area of food security and land, Matzen and Arnold use a unique approach to their research, inviting community members and groups to participate in soil sampling for soil testing as well as empowering communities to take the lead in dealing with soils compromised by pollution.
International Refugee Assistance Project at Berkeley Law (IRAP-Berkeley). Students offer high-quality, compassionate legal assistance to some of the most vulnerable groups of refugees in the world.
AppCivist for Vallejo Participatory Budgeting, an app for democratic budgeting collaboration. In 2012, Vallejo became the first city in the U.S. to launch such participatory work, eliciting project ideas from residents who then vote on which to recommend to the City Council for funding. AppCivist, a new online collaboration platform developed by researchers at the Social Apps Lab at CITRIS, allows the community to develop proposals online, view developments and comments in real-time and submit proposals for the budgeting ballot.
Karen Chapple, a professor in city and regional planning, Chapple headed up the Urban Displacement Project, which provides policymakers with research and policy recommendations to counter displacement and promote affordability policies.
Two other students were honored with Birgeneau/Undocumented Student Awards:
Miriam Avilez, a leader in Borders and Bodies Collective, a graduate student organization that is raising awareness about the intersection of immigration and public health. She is also working with other undocumented graduate students and the Center for Latino Policy Research on a project responding to the Trump administration by providing support for the undocumented student community at UC Berkeley.
Juan Prieto, who has held positions in RISE, as a representative of UC undocumented student coalition, and in the Undocumented Student Program and Transfer Center. His writing was published on the New York Times during times of political tension on campus, giving undocumented students a voice in the media.
Activism
Black Repertory Group Needs Volunteers to Help Shape the Next Generation of Artists and Leaders
Legendary performers such as Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover worked with and were inspired by BRG’s founders. More recently, Grammy award-winning artist Kehlani attended the Black Repertory Group Summer Day Camp for several years.
By Sean Vaughn Scott, Special to The Post
For more than 60 years, the Black Repertory Group (BRG) has changed lives through the arts.
Founded in 1964 by educators and visionaries Birel L. Vaughn and Nora Vaughn, BRG has become one of America’s oldest continuously operating Black theater institutions. For generations, it has preserved culture, developed talent, and provided opportunities for young people to discover their voices and their potential.
The results speak for themselves.
Legendary performers such as Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover worked with and were inspired by BRG’s founders. More recently, Grammy award-winning artist Kehlani attended the Black Repertory Group Summer Day Camp for several years.
Long before international recognition, Kehlani performed on the BRG stage. During a summer day camp production of “Princess and da Frog,” she portrayed Ray, the lovable firefly whose light guided others through the darkness. Her journey is proof that today’s camper may become tomorrow’s artist, entrepreneur, educator, or leader.
Located at 3201 Adeline St. in Berkeley, BRG continues that mission through its Youth Summer Day Camp of the Arts.
BRG is currently accepting applications and maintains an open enrollment program. Students may enroll throughout the summer as space permits and immediately become part of the BRG family.
We are also proud to be a multicultural opportunity program, welcoming children and families from all backgrounds, cultures, and communities. Through theater, music, dance, public speaking, visual arts, technical theater, and leadership development, students gain confidence, discipline, creativity, and lifelong skills.
As our programs grow, so does our need for volunteers.
We are seeking community members to assist with youth mentoring, registration, costumes, set construction, painting, props, ushering, photography, social media, marketing, technical theater, and fundraising activities. Whether you volunteer for a few hours or throughout the season, your support directly impacts the lives of young people.
BRG also partners with churches, civic organizations, alumni associations, fraternities, sororities, and community groups through theater party fundraisers, group sales, and buy-out performances. These partnerships have helped organizations raise funds while supporting arts and cultural programming.
The theater also serves as the home of the Berkeley NAACP Chapter, which meets every second Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m.
For more than six decades, the Black Repertory Group has remained committed to one belief: every child deserves an opportunity to shine.
The next great artist may already be among us.
The next Kehlani may already be walking through our doors.
We invite you to volunteer, enroll, participate, and become part of the legacy.
For more information please go to www.blackrepertorygroup.com, call (510) 652-2120, or email info@blackrepertorygroup.com
Sean Vaughn Scott is the director of the Black Repertory Group.
Bay Area
UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’
Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.
The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries
By Lila Thulin
U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.
Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.
Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.
Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.
“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.
The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.
This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.
In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.
That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.
Arts and Culture
Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh
The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.
By Antoinette Porter
Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.
The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.
Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.
Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.
A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.
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